edu-blogging: a launch pad for connectivity, metacognition & personal learning networks

Laura Gogia, MD, PhD @googleguacamole • www.lauragogia.com

Division of Learning Innovation & Student SuccessMarch 16, 2016

EDU-BLOGGING: A launch pad for connectivity, metacognition & personal learning networks

Photo Credit: Terranceandbecky.com

Photo credit: Flickr User Anonymous Account

BLOG“a website containing a writer's own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other websites.” (Dictionary.com)

“diary of thoughts, ideas, and innovations…” (Goyal, 2012)

“updated frequently” (Merriam Webster)

“often with opportunities for readers to respond” (Sullivan, 2008).

EDU-BLOG:Blogging for educational purposes.

A launch pad for connectivity, metacognition, & personal learning networks.

Digital Participatory Pedagogies

Photo Credit: Flickr User Mickey G Ottowa

Connected • Networked • Open

Open.

Photo Credit: Flickr User Tanakawho

P

Opening the borders between classrooms & the world.

Networked.

Photo Credit: Flickr User Catherine Cronin

Learning to navigate distributed spaces together.

Connected.

Photo Credit: Flickr User Sorokti

Education that bridges the formal/informal learning divide to promote interest-driven learning.

Connectivity:Connecting current thoughts & experience with & across people, contexts, & times.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIESBandura, 1977; Bruner, 1960; Harel & Papert, 1991; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Mezirow, 1991; Vygotsky, 1980

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERBransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2010; Anderson,

Krathwohl, & Bloom, 2001

SCHEMA, THRESHOLD & CONCEPT MAPPINGAusubel,1968; Bruner, 1966; Downes, 2006; Meyer &

Land 2003; Novak & Canas, 2008; Piaget, 1983; Vygotsky, 1980

People

Concepts

Space and Time

Connectivity draws from:

CONNECTIVITY is a form of experiential learning.

AGGREGATING: Collecting from the information stream

ORGANIZATING: Filtering information to make it

manageable

ANALYZING: Understanding

implications & critiquing sources

REPURPOSING: Synthesizing & transforming

information pieces

FEEDING FORWARD: Sharing new knowledge to receive feedback &

assist others

(Connectivist) Digital Workflow

Downes, 2008; Kop, 2011

What sort of pedagogical strategies are associated with these educational principles?

Connected.

Networked.

Open.

E-portfolios*

Personal Learning Networks*

*Pedagogical Strategies

Edu-Blogging*

Journaling

Tweeting

Photographing

Video Recording

Storifying

Annotating

Animating

Bookmarking

Surveying

Interviewing

*Pedagogical Tool

My discussion of PLNs emerges from:CONNECTED LEARNING LIT• Groups: DML Research Hub ; Mozilla Labs; HIVE• Geography: U.S. • Sector: K-12 Informal Learning • Example Articles: Gee, 2005; Ito et al., 2013; Ching et al.,

2015

CONNECTIVIST & TEAL LIT• Groups: JISC • Geography: U.K. & Canada • Sector: Higher, Adult & Continuing Education• Example Articles: Downes, 2006; Cormier, 2010;

White, 2011

Personal Learning Network

Credit: http://educationtechnologysolutions.com.au

Self-directed system meant to support lifelong learning through the development, maintenance & leveraging of digital networks.

Purpose of Personal Learning Networks

Create ParticipateShare

• Information• Feedback• Opportunities*

• Learning Products• Presentation• Dissemination

• Conversations• Co-construction

* “Brokering”

• Connectivist alternative [augmentation] to learning communities found in learning management systems.

Personal Learning Network

Cormier, 2010; Downes, 2007; Gee, 2005

Personal Learning Networks

Control of learning Orientation of learning

Increase in scope

Three ways to think about PLNs.

People & Topics

Digital Platforms

(Cormier, 2010)

Digital Workflow

AGGREGATION: Collecting from the information

stream

ORGANIZATION: Filtering information to make it

manageable

ANALYSIS: Understanding implications & critiquing

sources

REPURPOSING: Synthesizing &

transforming information pieces

FEEDING FORWARD: Sharing new knowledge to receive feedback & assist

others

SLACK

My PLN

GOOGLE

TWITTER

YouTube

WORDPRESS

INSTAGRAM

Research (Papers, Articles, Reports) Self-Reflection

Idea Composition

Receiving Feedback

Self-Directed Study

Work-Related Information

Resources for Presentations

Informal Learning Interests

Research & Experiments

Personal Relationships

Research & Writing Collaborations

Research (Organizations & Professional Hashtags)

News & Informal Learning Interests MY PLN

Digital Platform Lens

JISC – University of Oxford Digital Resident & Visitor Projecthttps://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/evaluating-digital-services/mapping-process

Mapping Process

Try it yourself (or with your class)

People in my PLN

Self-Brokered Opportunities

• Started an internationally attended journal club• Been mentioned in international publications• Peer-reviewed journal article • Conference steering committee • Invited seminars, panel talks, conference

presentations (Local & International)• Countless conversations, research assistance,

mentoring, & support

Digital Workflow: An exampleI participate in the Twitter component of a c-MOOC.

Through my Twitter interactions related to this hashtag, I become recognized as someone researching connected learning.

I share my mock prospectus slides on my blog (via an embed from slideshare.net)

I promote my blog post on Twitter, using the c-MOOC hashtag.

The same people with whom I tweet in the c-MOOC look at my presentation and comment on my blog post.

I notice a trend in the comments (both on my blog and Twitter) towards an interesting research question.

I propose the research question and summarize the comments through a Storify (which I publish on my blog and promote through Twitter).

Several scholars express interest; we communicate through google plus and arrange times for regular google hangouts.

We collaborate via google hangout and google docs towards a conference proposal and publications.

We become friends as well as professional colleagues.

Take Home Points

• PLNs are systemic approaches to student success & are based on the development of sustainable personal relationships.

• Student blogs provide a docking space & “calling card” • Public nature broadens scope of access & audience

Shifting Gears…

E-Portfolios

My discussion of e-portfolios emerges fromDIGITAL HUMANITIES • Centers of Activity: Florida State; JISC• Examples: JISC E-Portfolio Study 2008-2012;

Yancey, 2009

HIGHER EDUCATION • Centers of Activity: AACU • Examples: Kuh, 2008; Eynon, 2009

CONNECTED LEARNING• Centers of Activity: DML Research Hub • Examples: Sefton-Green (2014)

E-Portfolios

E-Portfolios as product. “Filing cabinet in dialogue”

An aggregation of digital items, evidence, reflections, and feedback which presents the audience with evidence of learning and/or ability.

Image Credit: https://blogs.uww.edu

JISC: E-portfolios 2008-2012

E-Portfolios as process. In the process of creating presentational e-portfolios, learners develop the key skills of capturing evidence, reflecting, sharing, collaborating, annotating, and presenting.”

JISC: E-portfolios, 2008-2012

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E-Portfolios

• Easier to share with a variety of stakeholders

•More likely to be used longitudinally through a student’s learning journey, rather than isolated to one discipline, context, or course.

• More opportunities for presenting evidence • Consistent with UDL principles• Higher levels of student engagement

(Eynon, 2009; Yancey, McElroy, & Powers, 2012)

E-Portfolios support multimodal expression.

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E-portfolios support hyperlinking.

• Connect posts with other web documents to provide source, background, or supportive information.

• Order and reorder learning points and accomplishments….In doing so, unexpected patterns emerge across academic achievements, professional pursuits, and personal interests

Student Engagement E-portfolios

One-size-fits-all approaches to e-portfolios do not work very well. So I’m not suggesting that.

However, in terms of e-portfolios, some component of blogging makes sense.

An E-Portfolio

An E-Portfolio

BLOG• Think pieces• Reflections• Summaries of papers, conference

presentations, &professional experiences

• Working out sections of my dissertation

• Platform for call for action*

The blog becomes the learning sandbox of the e-portfolio.

Bringing it all together

E-PortfoliosPersonal Learning Networks

EduBlog A launch pad for

connectivity, metacognition, & personal learning networks.